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Christopher Franke

Christopher Franke is a German film composer and electronic musician, as well as a former member of the electronic music band Tangerine Dream.

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Jul 8, 2026
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Christopher Franke
Background information
Also known asChris Franke
Born (1953-04-06) 6 April 1953
OriginBerlin, Germany
GenresElectronica, Ambient, Rock, New Age, World
OccupationsMusician, composer, songwriter
InstrumentsSynthesizer, keyboards, drums, sequencer
Formerly ofTangerine Dream
Websitechristopherfranke.com

Christopher Franke (born April 6, 1953) is a German film composer and electronic musician, as well as a former member of the electronic music band Tangerine Dream.1

Early life

Franke studied composition at Berlin Conservatory, where his influences included Karlheinz Stockhausen and John Cage.2

Career

Franke was a member of the group Tangerine Dream from 1970 to 19873 where he was dubbed the "Sequencer King" for his use of analog sequencer on stage.4 His use of sequencers with the band is attributed to molding its fast hypnotic style,2 including on its Phaedra in 1973.5 This album paved the way for the classic style of the group and attributed to the Berlin school of sound.6

After leaving Tangerine Dream, Franke performed a number of solo projects. He performed live in 1991 at the Astoria Theatre in London. Recorded live with Edgar Rothermich, who also produced and engineered most of his projects, it was released as a full-length album in 1993.7 In 1991, Franke opened a recording studio in West Hollywood and began composing the music for featured films that included Universal Soldier, Tarzan and the Lost City, and Night of the Running Man. The following year, he founded the record label Sonic Images to release soundtracks, Electronica, and World Music.8 He also released Pacific Coast Highway, his first solo album outside of Tangerine Dream.9

For television, Franke has composed music for a number of television shows including for the Sci-Fi series Babylon 510 and Pacific Blue to name a few.11

Filmography

Films

with Tangerine Dream

Solo

Television

with Tangerine Dream

Solo

Discography

with Tangerine Dream

Major releases

Solo

See also

See also

References

References

  1. Burlingame, Jon (2023). Music for Prime Time. Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780190618308.
  2. Partridge, Christopher; Moberg, Marcus (15 June 2023). The Bloomsbury Handbook of Religion and Popular Music. Bloomsbury Publishing. ISBN 9781350286993.
  3. "Leader of Tangerine Dream, the electronic band whose influence has been felt for more than four decades". The Independent. 28 January 2015.
  4. "Chris Franke: The Sequencer King". Sound on Sound. 1 May 1994.
  5. Osborne, Ben (29 July 2019). "Game Changer: How Tangerine Dream's 'Phaedra' set the template for ambient electronics". DJ Mag.
  6. Sfetcu, Nicolae (7 May 2014). The Music Sound.
  7. "The London Concert". Voices in the Net.
  8. "Labels Key in to Books' Messages". Billboard. 6 December 1997.
  9. "Franke, Christopher". Cue Records.
  10. Wilds, Stephen (22 February 2023). "The Legacy of Babylon 5: 30 years in the wake of the shadows". Space.
  11. Wagner, Matthias (22 November 2016). 3000 Plattenkritiken (in German). ISBN 9783741869433.
External links